Bed attachment for severable,continuous disposable sheets



Sept. 16, 1969 LE Rov w. HESS BED ATTACHMENT FOR SEVERABLE, CONTINUOUS DISPOSABLE SHEETS Filed July 24, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Leroy W Hess Attorney;

Sept. 16, 1969 3,466,679

CONTINUOUS DISPOSABLE SHEETS LE ROY W. HESS BED ATTACHMENT FOR SEVERABLE Filed July 24, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

Attorneys United States Patent O F 3,466,679 BED ATTACHMENT FOR SEVERABLE, CON- TINUOUS DISPOSABLE SHEETS Le Roy W. Hess, 25410 Bunker Hill Blvd., Hayward, Calif. 94542 Filed July 24, 1967, Ser. No. 655,608 Int. Cl. A47d 7/010; A47c 21/00, 21/02 US. Cl. 317 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device for providing disposable sheets for beds from continuous rolls mounted at an end of the bed beneath the frame supporting mattress consisting of a container completely enclosed except for a narrow slot for paying out the sheet up and over the mattress.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The gist of the invention is the use of a roll of severable, disposable, continuous bed sheet in which a bottom sheet is drawn from a container located adjacent the head and beneath the frame supporting the mattress and a top sheet is drawn from a container located adjacent the foot of the bed and similarly located beneath the frame.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel bed attachment so that soiled, disposable bed sheets can be quickly and easily removed and new sheets quickly dispensed from containers located on the bed and easily placed over the mattress.

Another object is to provide disposable sheets in a dispenser for hospital beds so that costly laundry facilities in hospitals and rest homes can be eliminated or greatly reduced. A further object is to provide dispensers for sheets located on beds so that sheet storage facilities 1 can be virtually eliminated.

A still further object is to provide a sheet dispenser which reduces the drudgery of the operation of changing sheets.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a side elevation view of the device attached to a bed which is shown in phantom line.

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the device shown attached to a bed.

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation view of the device. Portions of the bed and device are shown in phantom to illustrate the roll loading position.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged end elevation view of the device shown in FIGURE 3 taken substantially along the line 44.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged end view of the device with portions broken away for purposes of clarity and taken substantially along the line 5--5 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the device with portions shown in phantom line taken substantially along the line 6-6 in FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged sectional view of the device with portions shown in phantom line taken substantially along the line 77 in FIGURE 4.

3,466,679 Patented Sept. 16, 1969 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The attachment of the present invention for a bed 1 including a mattress 3 supported by a frame 5 consists briefly of: a first container 7 mounted beneath and at the end 9' of the frame, the container extending substantially the width of the frame forming an enclosure formed with a traverse slot 11; a first sheet roll 13 providing a disposable bottom sheet 15 for the mattress and having a width less than the length of the first container, the bottom sheet being folded on the roll and heaving an extended width exceeding the sum of the width and twice the thickness of the mattress, the sheet having a length equal to a plurality of bed lengths and being severable into single sheet length after being drawn over the mattress and mounting means connected to said container for securing said container to said frame.

A container 7' may also be mounted beneath and at the foot end 12 of the frame, the container extending substantially the width of the frame and forming an enclosure formed with a transverse slot 11'; a second sheet roll 19 providing a disposable top sheet 21 for the bed and having a width less than the length of the second container, the top sheet being folded on the roll and having an extended width exceeding the sum of the width and twice the thickness of the mattress, the sheet having a length equal to a plurality of bed lengths, and being severable into single sheet lengths after being drawn over the mattress; and mounting means connected to the container for securing the container to the frame.

This invention envisions the use of sheeting material which may be supplied in long rolls equal to a plurality of single sheets. Several options are possible in the type of material used, but it is essential that single sheets be severable from the long roll. Linen, cotton and other textile materials which are too expensive to be disposable would of course need to be joined by tape or loosely stitched together. Primarily, however, it is envisioned that the sheet material to be used would be paper or some other throw away material. The recent invention 'by Karl Kryer, Denmarks professional inventor, of a new way of assembling cellulose fibers to produce a paper which can be profiled to produce a material exhibiting the characteristics of such textiles as silk, corduroy, flannel and thick velvet is an example of a throwaway material. Tests have already been made that demonstrate that disposable bed linen is possible with the new process. It has been found further that this material can be waterproofed on one side, and profiled with a raised circle pattern on the other, which makes the material comfortable. Mr. Krye r anticipates that within a short time we anticipate that all laundries in existing hospitals will be converted to incinerating departments for heating purposes.

Although the present invention may find its first use for hospital beds, the invention could also be used in motels, rest homes, summer cottages and other vacationtype housing where the reuse of bed linen is inconvenient and the increased cost of disposable linen is not an economic problem. Eventually, this invention could be used on beds in private homes.

The material used in producing the container may be sheet metal, plastic, fiberboard or other material which will give the desired rigidity to hold the sheet rolls.

In order to prevent the contamination of the sheet rolls by dirt or other airborne contamination, the slots in each container are covered by spring loaded elongated members 23 and 23'. Springs 25 and 25' provide the frictional engagements between the aforementioned members and the sheets as they are withdrawn from the containers and maintain a tension on the sheets in use. Various spring arrangements may be utilized depending upon type of material used and one form is shown in FIGURES 7 and 6 in which members 23 and 23' are provided with I- shaped legs 27 and 27', respectively, which are in turn received by I-shaped legs 29 and 29' formed on numbers 31 and 31 attached to the respective sides of containers 7 and 7'.

The container dispensers for the sheet rolls may in themselves be made from inexpensive throwaway type cartridges being sealed except for a single longitudinal slot, or they may be manufactured with closure means for inserting refill rolls. Depending upon the construction of the beds to which the containers are attached, the closure means may be formed in the end panels 33 or 33' or they may be formed with hinged walls hereafter more specifically described. The refill rolls 35 and 36 are separated from the roll in the dispense position by transverse members 37 and 37'. The containers are thus divided into a first compartment adjacent the slot for dispensing and a second compartment for storing the extra roll.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the frame supporting the mattress is hinged at pins 39 and 41 providing a raised head section 43, a stationary middle section 45 and a foot section 47 which may be raised or lowered. This feature of the bed provides for a wide opening closure means in which both the refill and dispensing roll may be easily inserted. Referring to FIGURE 7, the closure means consists of a side portion 49 hingedly mounted for pivotal movement about a pin 51 near the end of the container. The upper end of this portion is spaced from the remaining portion of the container for forming the transverse slot 11. A hinge member 53 is connected to portion 49, and a similar hinge member 55 is connected to slide 57.

Container 7 is similarly constructed with a hinge pin 51', hinge member 53', hinge member 55 and fixed portion 57. Each of the containers is provided with a latching means which may be of various construction. As shown in FIGURE 7, panel 49 is connected to panel 57 by means of a latching strap 59 connected to hinge 65 and formed with an offset leg 60 for engaging a corner of portion 57. In like manner, a strap 59' is connected to side portion 49' by hinge 65' and an offset leg 60 connects to a corner of panel 57'.

The containers may be connected to the beds by any of several means. Disposable cartridges must necessarily be easily detachable from the frame, whereas containers formed for storage of refills may be more or less permanently affixed to the beds. As here shown, the containers may be easily removed from the beds or may be left in place. Container 7 is attached to frame member 43 by spring mounted straps 61, -62, 63 and 64. Offset portions, such as 6 and 7, clamp one end to the frame 43 and offset portions 68 and 69 clamp the other end. Container 7 is connected to portion 47 of the frame by means of spring straps 61', 62', 63, and 64. These straps are connected to the frame by offset portions 66' 67, 68' and 6?. Offset portions 66 and 67 are offset in the same general direction, whereas the offset portions of 66' and 67 for example are offset in opposite directions for clamping to the bed frame.

This invention sets forth containers which will dispense a bottom sheet of standard width or a contoured sheet having sides 16, and a top sheet having sides 22. having side 22.

I claim:

1. An attachment for a bed including a mattress supported by a frame comprising:

a first container mounted beneath and at one end of said frame, said container extending substantially 4- the width of said frame and forming an enclosure formed with a transverse slot;

a first sheet roll providing a disposable sheet for said mattress and having a width less than the length of said first container, said sheet being folded on said roll and having an extended width exceeding the sum of the width and twice the thickness of said mattress, said sheet having a length equal to a plurality of bed lengths and being severable into single sheet lengths after being drawn over said mattress; and mounting means connected to said container for securing said container to said frame.

2. An attachment for a bed including a mattress supported by a frame as described in claim 1 including:

said first container being mounted at the head end of said frame;

a second container mounted beneath and at the foot end of said frame, said container extending substantially the width of said frame and forming an enclosure formed with a transverse slot;

a second sheet roll providing a disposable top sheet for said bed and having a width less than the length of said second container, said top sheet being folded on said roll and having an extended width exceeding the sum of the width and twice the thickness of said mattress, said sheet having a length equal to a plurality of bed lengths, and being severable into single sheet lengths after being drawn over said mattress; and

mounting means connected to said second container for securing said container to said frame.

3. An attachment for a bed as described in claim 1 including:

spring loaded elongated members covering each of said container slots and mounted on said respective containers for frictional engagement with said sheets as they are withdrawn from the containers.

4. An attachment for a bed as described in claim 1 including:

closure means mounted oneach of said containers for inserting refill rolls therein.

5. An attachment for a bed as described in claim 4 including:

said containers having an elongated transverse member dividing said containers into a first compartment adjacent said slot for dispensing and a second compartrnent for storing an extra roll of sheets therein; and

said closure means permitting removal of both rolls from each of said containers.

6. An attachment for a bed as described in claim 5 wherein said frame for supporting said mattress is hinged at said head end for pivotal movement upwardly includmg:

said first container being mounted with said first compartment above said second compartment;

said closure means having a side portion of said first container hingedly mounted for pivotal movement about a point near the bottom of said container and the upper end of said portion being spaced from the remaining portion of said container forming said transverse slot;

a spring loaded longated member on the upper end of said side portion of said first container covering said slot and frictionally engaging said sheet upon withdrawal from said container; and

a latching member releasably holding said side portion in a closed position.

7. An attachment for a bed as described in claim 5 wherein said frame for supporting said mattress is hinged at said foot end for pivotal movement upwardly including:

said second container being mounted with said first and second compartments at substantially the same elevation;

said closure means having a bottom portion of said second container hingedly mounted for pivotal movement about a point at one side of said container and the free end of said portion being spaced from the remaining portion of said container forming said transverse slot;

a spring loaded elongated member mounted on said free end of said closure means covering said slot and frictionally engaging said sheet upon withdrawal from said container; and

a latching member releasably holding said bottom portion in a closed position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner ANDREW M. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

